The Guides - Still Free, Now Digital!

Bluedale Publishing takes the step to digitalise their travel guides. Having over 14 years of experience in publication under their belt, they have been always striving to make travel guides accessible to traveller.

Travelling has somehow become an essential part of people’s lives nowadays. If it wasn’t for COVID-19, we would all still be travelling either within or out of the country. Bluedale Publishing’s first title ‘KL The Guide’ (KLTG) was conceived when the publisher, Lyndon Yap, went on an overseas trip and he found out that travel guides were distributed for free which sparked the idea for KL The Guide.

Bluedale Publishing wanted to create something similar, which is a content provider, to make it easier for travellers to navigate through Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur with ease. Over a decade, Bluedale Publishing has spread its wings to produce many titles to be a reliable source for travellers to get essential local travel information, all for free.

These travel guides’ focus is solely to benefit and give travellers the travel content they did not know they needed. The contents have often included details that many do not know or are aware of, and these are all based on years of experience and interactions with people around. “Our travel content allows travellers and others to know something they have never experienced or know before, for example, how Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa first started out in Kampung Baru, KL”, Yap elaborated.

Based on the data from the World Bank, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Malaysia was USD 364.7 billion while 26.1 million international travellers were recorded in 2019 and these data dropped heavily when Covid-19 arrived. Hence, showing that the tourism industry striving before the arrival of the pandemic. Despite it, Bluedale Publishing continues to work towards giving valuable travel information for future travels when it is finally and properly safe to travel in Malaysia.

They have published guidebooks for Malaysians, international travellers as well as foreigners who are localised so that it provides readers with the essential information that’s needed (from best places to eat to medical facilities). What’s even better is that they are free and easy to carry and read.

Having such vast experience in travel contents, Bluedale also understands the need to expand this product to other states, hence they have ventured out and collaborated with other state’s tourism agencies to provide similar guidebooks. Melaka, Johor, Taiping, Tawau, Tambunan, and Keningau are some of which have their own version of The Guide now. Johor The Guide, Hulu Selangor The Guide, and Perak The Guide are currently in the works and will be available in the near future. These will not be the only ones as many more are expected to come.

On the other hand, Klang Valley 4 Locals is another guidebook, previously named as Travel 4 Locals. This one is aimed to stimulate local business growth and domestic tourism concentrating on Klang Valley areas. The guidebook focuses on what locals and localised people would want, and less of the over popularised areas and tourist spots.

There were discussions on the importance of domestic tourism, especially during these difficult times because of MCO and the COVID-19 pandemic, Yap explained “About 70-80 per cent are not from here, but rather people who are localised”. After research, it was found that a lot of people, especially ones from the city, know very little about hidden attractions within their own areas.

The information in the travel guides takes the form of publication contents which is developed from readers' experiences and suggestions as a step to enhance their upcoming edition of publications. “The guidebooks are intended for the mass, that includes any nationality within Klang Valley, even foreigners,” Yap added.

As many would already know about the places in Kuala Lumpur, less are attracted to explore Klang Valley due to not knowing the areas which have their own attractions. Klang Valley which has been called ‘The Greater KL’ serves further beyond Petaling, Gombak, Ampang, and Damansara areas. This includes Hulu Selangor, Hulu Langat, and Kuala Langat.

“We have been doing this for over 14 years, and Bluedale Publishing has always been upgrading for the better. So, we should also include more stories of those shops who have managed to survive through the harsh times.”

Various editions of all of these travel guidebooks have been published for years since the start of this subsidiary, allowing Bluedale Publishing to strive and become one of the leading publishers in the country, particularly in the tourism department.

The publications of these travel guides are distributed to Tourism Malaysia offices all over Malaysia. The travel guides can be a great help for the travellers to look around the areas of KL. In the year 2020, Bluedale Publishing has published its 38th edition of KL The Guide.

The information provided in the guides highlights the wonders of the particular city or state and the cultures that reside in that state. Want to know where to eat, stay and whereabouts when you are travelling around the states of Malaysia and internationally? It is possible to grab a hard copy or the digital book from the designated locations or website respectively. 

The next big thing for them was taking a step forward through the digitalisation of the guidebooks. The company realised with the ever-growing technologies in the new era, they need to step up the game again. When stocks of the physical copies are out, travellers can download their E-book version right from their official website. All hassle-free and weight free for those travelling lightly, an easy solution when they are on the go. 

Information within the guidebooks gives easy access to explore the wonders of Malaysia as well as the fun little gems hiding around. Apart from providing e-guides on their website, the publishing company has also taken a step to emulate their guide books into applications that can be downloaded through Google Play Store or Apple Store, created for the user’s ease of access.

These apps can be found and downloaded from both Google Play Store and Apple App Store, and the e-copies of The Guides are all accessible as well. With just a click of a button, everything is at the tip of your fingers, without needing to pay for anything. These are all made possible because of contributions and feedback made by readers together with working alongside the federal, state, and local councils to promote domestic tourism.

It does not stop just within Malaysia as Bluedale Publishing has already breached into the international waters. They have collaborated with associations from other countries, such as Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and many other Central Asian countries, in efforts to improve the Malaysian tourism industry.

Uzbekistan The guide emphasises portraying the mysterious yet beautiful country with great architectures and attractions. It features more than 100 historical sites in the cities of Uzbekistan. The latest app is already up and running and can be downloaded in the mentioned app stores.

The current travel information trends are comprehensive and beneficial, but Bluedale Publishing continues to provide more for readers as they can look up further insights on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Details vary across the different titles of the guidebooks because each title has its own platform but viewers can see more pictures than can be seen in the guides. 

Being on these social media platforms makes the company approachable and enables faster response to enquiries such as when there are questions in the comments or private messages. The interactions are useful in order to increase internet traffic and ensure the posts are being spread out wider to more audiences. In other words, they are trying to build a strong online presence.

All these are in an effort to cater to both young and old souls alike. The younger generations are often called ‘foodies’ and may prefer to go to trendy sites, or interesting food shops to satisfy their wanderlust. Compared to that, the older ones may opt more for relaxing and healthier activities. 

The latest publication project was the publishing of AMSPA, also a guide but its focus is on spas and places of wellness. Within the near future, Bluedale Publishing wishes to collaborate with more organisers and agencies, in order to venture into other types of products and services beyond tourism.

At present, readers are also able to contribute content to the publication agency digitally or through social media. Hence, the public can be sure and continue to expect more from Bluedale.

Out of the many developments and initiatives made by the publication, another latest action is to put out posters in different locations and eateries. These posters are created to grab the attention of passers-by as well as shop customers where they are placed. The catchy phrase “Hey, I’ve been spotted by KL The Guide” will definitely raise questions from those seeing it while the QR code attached will bring the search directly to the app without needing to search for it.

For further enquiries, do contact +603-7886 9219 or send an e-mail to [email protected] to obtain a free copy or gather information regarding the free copies of their publications, or reach out to us:

Facebook: KL The Guide

Instagram: kltheguide

App: KL The Guide (Google Play Store & Apple App Store)